Been reading Thrive by Brendan Brazier (a friend gave it to me read, and I was like a big know it all and said that I really didn't need to read another Vegan book - after being vegan for 12 years - but it is weird to read what I have been doing all along as an athlete). I am trying to incorporate some of what he says into my plan. Even though it is Endurance training nutrition, I feel like cutting is Endurance training (just living my life is endurance training!), so some of the philosophy is new to me. Training the body to utilize bodyfat instead of glycogen stores is what I am trying to wrap my training around. I have to think about this, as I do like slow and steady cardio, and the nutrition that goes with that, but then I switch to Resistance training and have to have the nutrition for that - all in the same day!

So I will be playing around with my diet and timing of nutrients going in. As long as I can lift heavy, and am losing bodyfat, then I will keep tweaking it up. I have some time before July's comp.

On today's menu is a jog on the Paint Creek Trail (it is in Rochester, MI - and it goes along the riverbank near town, and lovely wooded areas outward) before I pop into Whole Foods all sweaty and shop for groceries (mango season!). Then Delts in the afternoon, and we shall see about night time cardio (a trail walk like yesterday, or go for a nice lengthy spinning session).

Yesterday was Chest with a 3 mile trail walk in the morning and a 2 mile trail walk at night (felt Beastly doing Chest, but not so for cardio yesterday). And I laid out in the sun, even though it was a very cold 50 degrees out on the deck. Would it be cool to have tanned dots all over from sunburning my goosebumps? jk- I never stay out till I burn!

Today was beautiful (60 degrees and a slight breeze) as I did a 5 mile run this morning on a different trail (near whole foods - and yes I was all sweaty as I shopped - changed my drenched shirt though, but had to keep the wet jog bra on though - ew!). Tried the SaviSeed. Has the texture and slight nutty taste of a peanut, but it is a seed. I am going to give it to one of the girls at the gym who is allergic to nuts, and see what she thinks of it (she loved the sunflower seed butter as a substitute for peanut butter).

After shopping, I got home, ate a meal (had just a smoothie this morning for meal#1, one medjool date before the run, and Vega's Accelerator Recovery after the run), and then passed out for a power nap for an hour! got up, had a VP and some saviseeds, plus the Vega Pre-Workout with BCAAs, before heading for the gym to do Delts. I was alittle weak today as I could only do 4-6 reps on my heaviest set instead of 6-8 reps. Well, that is to be expected from a 5 mile run this morning, and a drop in my bodyweight. Still I was pleased.

Now am thinking of what to eat for dinner. Seiten sprinkled over a salad I think with lemon juice/tahini dressing this time (my favorite salad dressing/dipping sauce from doing the raw vegan diet last year). And I really should just chill with a DVD tonight, but it is so nice out that the trail is calling me for a walk tonight instead. I can feel a sound sleep coming on.

LOL though! I had a celebration meal of 3 pancakes (1 cup of GF pancake mix, 1Tbsp of flaxseed meal, 2 Tbsp of quinoa, vanilla, mixed with water - no oil in the batter), 1 tsp of EB on each pancake and 1 tsp of agave on each pancake. A glass of water to wash it down. 10 minutes later - food coma! Passed out on the couch for 30 minutes. Now I am waiting for the energy to kick in and get me to the gym to do Legs today (no cardio so far. too cold for the Sunday bike ride (not repeating last weekend's cold chill to the bone attempt), and food coma put me down for morning cardio. maybe a spinning session tonight?).

Nobody at the gym (hello it is Easter Sunday - I am the only one stupid enough to be there). I tried to do Legs today, but they were hurting with just a warmup of 8 45plates on each side of the Leg Press (usually I can get up to 10 45plates on each side no problem).

I think my partner has abandoned me - she has been quote "sick" for the past 2 weeks. So it has been alittle lonely lately, but especially today.

And my Legs was sore from the 5 mile run yesterday and my whole body was tired from going heavy with Delts yesterday too, I think.

I didn't push it, but went thru the motions of the exercises, and just enough sets to work the Leg muscles, but not push it too heavy. I looked in the gym's mirror and sighed as I am not where I want to be yet (so impatient today?).

But I smiled when I thought of my weight loss this morning, and those 3 pancakes! Oh yeah baby! Life is good. . . LOL.

Feeling the effects of yesterday's workout, heck I was feeling it last night.

So I headed to the gym and did 60 minutes of LIT on the Elliptical (level 2 -low, as I did Legs yesterday) and felt pretty good afterwards.

Headed back to the gym in the late afternoon to do Back. While I was getting stuff ready for the gym, I decided to use my creatine again. Put it in with my Vega Pre-Workout drink. . . mmmmmmmmm. I didn't feel like I had alot of energy flowing thru me, like you do with caffeine, but I was hauling my heavy weights around like I was back in my bulking season. I even tried to a Pull-Up up to see if I could do my own bodyweight now: 157, as I was doing 165 on the lat pulldown machine (and had a hard time getting my legs under the padded brace to keep my body down and not go up with the weight!). I did a wimpy 5 of them, all at a small ROM (my legs were in a bent position as I had to get a step table to stand up on to reach the Star Trac's Tower pull/chin-up bar located in the middle of the beam). I remember I could do a good dozen when I was down to the 140's, so next month maybe I can lift my bodyweight in a pull-up?

Quads were somewhat sore at night, so I did not go back in for more cardio. Something told me that it was going to take me awhile to repair the damage I did this afternoon. I even put in an extra vega protein powder shake that night.

It is now the day after. I am so sore! It is taking me a while to get going. The weather is helping me also by being cold and grey today. Need to get up and eat alot of raw stuff to get this recovery going. I think I can do Arms today, as they seem to not be hurting in anyway. Delts are staying sore lately, but I think that is due to the use on the Elliptical for cardio.

157.0 even this morning. Even after breaking down and eating a cara cara orange last night before bed!

New development. I had this last time, but it was when I was way down on bodyfat and taking fat burners: sweat smelled like ammonia.

When I came home yesterday night after a nice 1 hour spinning session, I took off my wet sweaty jogbra, and smelled the ammonia! Kind of like the stuff that you use to wake someone up when they've passed out!

First thought thru my head was that I am burning my muscle for fuel for these cardio workouts (not good). Then I thought about what had changed so that I smelled ammonia after last nights' cardio, and not the other times. It could be the creatine that I started to take again for just my heavy workouts. I won't take it today, and see if it helps. I had a nice 60 minutes on the Elliptical this morning, and to keep it on the safe side, I did very light level 2 with heart rate only at 110 bpm. Still sweated alot, and it did not smell of ammonia. So maybe the creatine was it? I will see today after I do Chest (without creatine - I liked being able to haul the heavy weights around, but not at the expense of having ammonia coming out of my skin cause it is in my bloodstream, being toxic, and needing to leave thru the skin!).

I am finding out, that the more pure my diet becomes (alot more raw veggies and fruit now instead of cooking them), the more I can find the culprit that is causing the harm to my body. So yeah, creatine is out during my cutting.

the first thing my coach told me to do was cut creatine when i started working with him, and he thinks it doesnt even work at all. however, i felt i was stronger when i started using it. could be placebo. i often smell like ammonia too....i did the other day and ive been off creatine since early january...